Barriers to Care

Sarah H. Kagan, PhD, RN, AOCN, APRN-BC, FAAN, FGSA shares the ideal roles that would make up the multidisciplinary care team of older populations with cancer.

Sarah H. Kagan, PhD, RN, AOCN, APRN-BC, FAAN, FGSA offers 1 piece of advice to oncology navigators who are providing care to older patients.

Ageism is prevalent in healthcare and is the number 1 barrier that older patients with cancer face when receiving care.

Sarah H. Kagan, PhD, RN, AOCN, APRN-BC, FAAN, FGSA explains why we need specialized programs to address the needs of older people living with cancer.

Nancy Peña, OPN-CG, Founder and Director, Navegación de Pacientes International, explains how nurse navigators are being trained to serve more patients, especially indigenous peoples. Rowan Robinson, BN, MSN, Navigator/Quality Lead, Netcare, Ltd, South Africa, explains that the concept of navigation is relatively new in South Africa. She discusses a pilot program there that focused on patients with breast cancer.

Nancy Peña, OPN-CG, Founder and Director, Navegación de Pacientes International, describes the differences in navigation in Guatemala versus the United States. Navigators face challenges with time, money, and data collection. Rowan Robinson, BN, MSN, Navigator/Quality Lead, Netcare, Ltd, South Africa, says that South African navigators encountered suspicion from patients, which led to a marketing campaign to introduce navigation.

Navigators must educate providers and patients about the role of the navigator and how it differs from other practitioners, such as social workers, says Nancy Peña, OPN-CG, Founder and Director, Navegación de Pacientes International. Rowan Robinson, BN, MSN, Navigator/Quality Lead, Netcare, Ltd, South Africa, mentions the crucial need for education across the board since navigation is a new practice in South Africa.

As the Director for Corporate Oncology Navigation at Ballad Health, Zilipah Cruz believes that the 2018 AONN+ Annual Conference helped her understand the needs of the oncology navigators at her institution. While oncology navigators help remove the barriers that keep patients from getting the appropriate treatment, administrators like her help remove the barriers that oncology navigators face.

Steve Pittman attributes blame and shame as major barriers that prevent patients with mental health issues from seeking psychosocial support.